Very High Energy Electron (VHEE) Radiotherapy (RT): A potential New Paradigm in Cancer Treatment

与目前的光子和电子治疗相比，VHEE放射治疗（在~100至250 MeV的能量范围内）具有更有利的剂量分布，并且对组织不均匀性不敏感（例如在肺和肠治疗中明显），因此可以在放射治疗中提供益处。它也有可能比目前使用的放射疗法（如质子放射疗法）便宜得多，并且可以快速输送剂量——因为在由电磁操纵的电子束组成的系统中设想了有限的机械运动。VHEE RT可以为癌组织提供极快和大剂量的递送，因此利用了最近报道的FLASH效应，其在正常组织和肿瘤组织之间表现出增加的差异反应。这可能为未来的放射治疗提供显著的好处，然而缺乏准确和可追溯的剂量测定阻碍了这一领域的快速进展。博士生将专注于VHEE光束的剂量学，在科克罗夫特研究所的CLARA设施和欧洲核子研究中心的CLEAR设施使用绝对、次级标准和相对剂量学方法进行测量。这项工作将辅以全面的蒙特卡罗建模，以计划实验，计算所需的校正和转换因子，并了解涉及光束产生，幻影和患者中的传输和剂量沉积的物理过程。还设想进行初步的放射生物学研究，以评估VHEE光束的功效

VHEE radiotherapy (in the energy range of ~100 to 250 MeV) could offer benefits in radiotherapy treatments due to more favourable dose distributions in comparison to current photon and electron therapy and insensitivity to tissue inhomogeneities (apparent e.g. in the lung and bowel treatments). It also has the potential to be significantly cheaper than extant radiotherapies in use, such as proton radiotherapy, and could allow rapid delivery of dose - as limited mechanical motion is envisaged in a system consisting of electromagnetically steered e-beams. VHEE RT could offer extremely rapid and large dose delivery to cancerous tissue, therefore taking advantage of recently reported FLASH effect, which exhibits as increase differential response between normal and tumorous tissue. This could offer significant benefits in future radiotherapy, however lack of accurate and traceable dosimetry is hampering the rapid progress in this area. The PhD student will focus on dosimetry of VHEE beams performing measurements at Cockcroft Institute's CLARA facility and CLEAR facility at CERN using absolute, secondary standard and relative dosimetry methods. This work will be complemented by comprehensive Monte Carlo modelling required to plan experiments, calculate required correction and conversion factors and understand physical processes involved in generation of the beam, transport and dose deposition in the phantoms and patients. Preliminary radiobiological studies are also envisaged to assess the efficacy of VHEE beam